U.S. patent application number 11/067935 was filed with the patent office on 2006-08-31 for mobile wireless communications device with human interface diversity antenna and related methods.
This patent application is currently assigned to Research in Motion Limited. Invention is credited to Vytas Kezys, Yihong Qi.
Application Number | 20060192724 11/067935 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36931530 |
Filed Date | 2006-08-31 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060192724 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kezys; Vytas ; et
al. |
August 31, 2006 |
Mobile wireless communications device with human interface
diversity antenna and related methods
Abstract
A mobile wireless communications device may include a portable
handheld housing, and a wireless transceiver carried by the
housing. A pair of an antennas are positioned in side-by-side
relation preferably in the upper portion of the portable handheld
housing. A human interface diversity controller is connected to the
wireless transceiver to preferentially operate with the plurality
of antennas based upon a relative position of the portable handheld
housing with respect to a hand of a human user. The device can
select or weight the antennas based upon the position of the device
when being held by a user.
Inventors: |
Kezys; Vytas; (Ancaster,
CA) ; Qi; Yihong; (Waterloo, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
ALLEN, DYER, DOPPELT, MILBRATH & GILCHRIST P.A.
1401 CITRUS CENTER 255 SOUTH ORANGE AVENUE
P.O. BOX 3791
ORLANDO
FL
32802-3791
US
|
Assignee: |
Research in Motion Limited
Waterloo
CA
N2L3W8
|
Family ID: |
36931530 |
Appl. No.: |
11/067935 |
Filed: |
February 28, 2005 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
343/893 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01Q 1/245 20130101;
H04B 7/0608 20130101; H04B 7/0615 20130101; H04B 7/0848 20130101;
H04B 7/0814 20130101; H04W 16/28 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
343/893 |
International
Class: |
H01Q 21/00 20060101
H01Q021/00 |
Claims
1. A mobile wireless communication device comprising: a portable
handheld housing; a wireless transceiver carried by said portable
handheld housing; a plurality of antennas positioned in
side-by-side relation in said portable handheld housing; and a
human interface diversity controller connected to said wireless
transceiver to preferentially operate with the plurality of
antennas based upon a relative position of said portable handheld
housing with respect to a hand of a human user.
2. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 1 wherein
said human interface diversity controller preferentially weights
transmit signals.
3. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 1 wherein
said human interface diversity controller preferentially weights
transmit signals based upon received signal strength.
4. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 1 wherein
said human interface diversity controller preferentially switches
at least one antenna on and at least one antenna off for transmit
signals.
5. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 1 wherein
said human interface diversity controller preferentially switches
at least one antenna on and at least one antenna off for transmit
signals based upon received signal strength.
6. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 1 wherein the
plurality of antennas are operable on a same frequency.
7. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 1 wherein the
plurality of antennas have different polarizations.
8. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 1 wherein the
plurality of antennas have different conductive patterns.
9. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 1 wherein the
plurality of antennas have different frequencies for transmit and
receive.
10. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 1 wherein
the plurality of antennas comprises a pair of first and second
antennas.
11. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 1 wherein
the portable handheld housing has opposing parallel front and back
surfaces and wherein said plurality antennas are arranged in
side-by-side relation in an upper portion of the portable handheld
housing and extending in a plane parallel to the front and back
surfaces.
12. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 1 further
comprising a display carried by said portable handheld housing and
connected to said transceiver.
13. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 1 further
comprising at least one user input device carried by said portable
handheld housing and connected to said transceiver.
14. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 1 further
comprising at least one input/output transducer carried by said
portable handheld housing and connected to said transceiver.
15. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 1 wherein
said transceiver and said plurality of antennas are operable in at
least one of a LAN wireless network and a cellular wireless
network.
16. A mobile wireless communication device comprising: a portable
handheld housing having opposing parallel front and back surfaces;
a wireless transceiver carried by said portable handheld housing; a
pair of antennas positioned in side-by-side relation extending in a
plane parallel to the front and back surfaces of said portable
handheld housing; and a human interface diversity controller
connected to said wireless transceiver to preferentially operate
with the pair of antennas based upon a relative position of said
portable handheld housing with respect to a hand of a human
user.
17. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 16 wherein
said human interface diversity controller preferentially weights
transmit signals.
18. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 1 wherein
said human interface diversity controller preferentially switches
at least one antenna on and at least one antenna off for transmit
signals.
19. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 1 wherein
the plurality of antennas have different conductive patterns.
20. A method of operating a mobile wireless communications device
to account for different human interface, the mobile wireless
communications device having a portable handheld housing and a
wireless transceiver therein, and a pair of antennas side-by-side
in an upper portion of the portable handheld housing and connected
to the wireless transceiver, the method comprising controlling the
wireless transceiver to preferentially operate with the pair of
antennas based upon a relative position of the portable handheld
housing with respect to a hand of a human user.
21. The method of claim 20 wherein controlling the wireless
transceiver comprises preferentially weighting transmit
signals.
22. The method of claim 20 wherein controlling the wireless
transceiver comprises preferentially switching one antenna on and
one antenna off for transmit signals.
23. The method of claim 20 wherein the pair of antennas are
operated on a same frequency.
24. The method of claim 20 wherein each antenna of the pair of
antennas has a different conductive pattern.
25. The method of claim 20 wherein the portable handheld housing
has opposing parallel front and back surfaces and wherein the pair
of antennas are arranged in side-by-side relation extending in a
plane parallel to the front and back surfaces.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to the field of communications
systems, and, more particularly, to wireless communications systems
and related methods.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] One of the challenges of wireless communications is
designing suitable antennas that can provide desired performance
characteristics, yet are relatively small in size to fit within
mobile devices. For example, with wireless devices such as mobile
telephones, it is desirable to keep the overall size of the
telephone as small as possible. Furthermore, internal antennas are
generally preferred over external antennas, as externally mounted
antennas take up more space and may be damaged while traveling,
etc.
[0003] The use of an internal antenna in a handheld device,
particularly those that can be held in various positions, such as
by either, both or no hands, leads to the antenna environment being
modified in different ways depending on how the user
holds/positions the device. Accordingly, antenna designs have to be
optimized for only a single position, e.g. one handheld scenario,
or the antenna has to be designed to compromise between mulitple
scenarios.
[0004] One example of an antenna that is implemented on a PCMCIA
card to be inserted in a PCMCIA slot of a laptop computer is
disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,031,503 to Preiss, II et al. The
antenna assembly includes two folded, U-shaped antennas, which may
be dipoles or slot radiators, that are disposed orthogonally to one
another to provide polarization diversity. Polarization diversity
means that signals are transmitted and received on two different
polarizations to increase the likelihood that the signal is
received. Signals are carried to and from the antenna by microstrip
feed lines. The microstrip lines are placed off center along each
antenna slot to establish an acceptable impedance match for the
antenna, and the feed lines are coupled to the communications card
by coaxial cables.
[0005] Accordingly, with even more restrictive space constraints
for such handheld devices, there is a need for antennas which are
appropriately sized for such applications yet still provide desired
performance characteristics.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] In view of the foregoing background, it is therefore an
object of the present invention to provide a mobile wireless
communications device with an antenna and transceiver providing
human interface diversity as well as other desired signal
characteristics and related methods.
[0007] This and other objects, features, and advantages in
accordance with the present invention are provided by a mobile
wireless communication device including a portable handheld housing
which may have an upper portion and a lower portion, and a wireless
transceiver carried by the portable handheld housing. A plurality
of antennas, preferably a pair of an antennas, are positioned in
side-by-side relation preferably in the upper portion of the
portable handheld housing. A human interface diversity controller
is connected to the wireless transceiver to preferentially operate
with the plurality of antennas based upon a relative position of
the portable handheld housing with respect to a hand of a human
user.
[0008] The human interface diversity controller preferentially
weights transmit signals, and/or switches at least one antenna on
and at least one antenna off, for example, based upon received
signal strength. The plurality of antennas may be operable on a
same frequency, have different polarizations, have different
conductive patterns and/or have different frequencies for transmit
and receive.
[0009] The portable handheld housing preferably has opposing
parallel front and back surfaces and the plurality of antennas are
arranged in side-by-side relation extending in a plane parallel to
the front and back surfaces. A display, user input device and an
input/output transducer are carried by the portable handheld
housing and connected to the transceiver. Furthermore, the
transceiver and the plurality of antennas are operable in a LAN
wireless network and/or a cellular wireless network.
[0010] A method aspect of the invention is directed to operating a
mobile wireless communications device to account for different
human interface, the mobile wireless communications device having a
portable handheld housing and a wireless transceiver therein, and a
pair of antennas side-by-side in an upper portion of the portable
handheld housing and connected to the wireless transceiver. The
method includes controlling the wireless transceiver to
preferentially operate with the pair of antennas based upon a
relative position of the portable handheld housing with respect to
a hand of a human user.
[0011] Controlling the wireless transceiver may include
preferentially weighting transmit signals, and/or preferentially
switching one antenna on and one antenna off for transmit signals.
Again, the pair of antennas may be operated on a same frequency,
and each antenna of the pair of antennas may have a different
conductive pattern. Preferably, the portable handheld housing has
opposing parallel front and back surfaces and the pair of antennas
are arranged in side-by-side relation extending in a plane parallel
to the front and back surfaces.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] FIG. 1 is schematic diagram of a mobile wireless
communications device in accordance with the present invention.
[0013] FIGS. 2A and 2B are schematic diagrams of the mobile
wireless communications device of FIG. 1 illustrating the device
being held by a user in respectively different positions.
[0014] FIG. 3 is an enlarged rear elevational view of a portion of
the mobile wireless communications device of FIG. 1 with the
housing removed illustrating the pair of antennas thereof in
greater detail.
[0015] FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of an exemplary mobile
wireless communications device for use with the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0016] The present invention will now be described more fully
hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which
preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention
may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be
construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather,
these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be
thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the
invention to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like
elements throughout.
[0017] Referring initially to FIG. 1, a mobile wireless
communications device 21 in accordance with the present invention
is first described. The mobile wireless communications device 21
illustratively includes a portable, handheld housing 24, and a
wireless transceiver 25 carried by the portable, handheld housing.
The device 21 also illustratively includes an antenna assembly 26
for cooperating with the wireless transceiver 25 to communicate
over the wireless network, as will be discussed further below. More
particularly, the device 21 may be a PDA-type device in which the
wireless transceiver and antenna assembly 26 cooperate to
communicate various types of data, such as voice data, video data,
text (e.g., email) data, Internet data, etc. over the wireless
network. More specifically, the antenna assembly 26 may be used for
placing telephone calls, in which case the device 21 may generally
take the form or shape of a typical cellular telephone or a
cellular-enabled PDA device, for example.
[0018] The antenna assembly 26 includes a plurality of antennas,
preferably a pair of an antennas 30, 33 as illustrated. The pair of
antennas 30, 33 are positioned in side-by-side relation preferably
in the upper portion of the portable handheld housing 24. A human
interface diversity controller 27 is connected to the wireless
transceiver 25 to preferentially operate with the pair of antennas
30, 33 based upon a relative position of the portable handheld
housing 24 with respect to a hand of a human user.
[0019] As discussed above, the use of an internal antenna in a
handheld device, particularly those that can be held in various
positions, such as by either, both or no hands, leads to the
antenna environment being modified in different ways depending on
how the user holds/positions the device. Accordingly, conventional
antenna designs are optimized for only a single position, e.g. one
handheld scenario, or the antenna is designed to compromise between
mulitple scenarios.
[0020] Turning additionally to FIGS. 2A and 2B, an embodiment of
the pair of antennas 30, 33 and associated human interface
diversity controller 27 will be described. Firstly, by using
mulitple antennas in a human diversity arrangement, the mobile
wireless communications device 21 can select the best antenna, or
weighted combination, based upon how the user is holding the
device. The antennas 30, 33 are designed to provide an overall high
antenna system efficiency for the common user holding positions.
The figures respectively illustrate a user holding the device 21 in
a right hand and a left hand. As can be seen, the user's hand may
be directly adjacent one of antennas 30, 33 thereby affecting the
performance of the antennas. Accordingly, the associated human
interface diversity controller 27 will preferentially operate the
pair of antennas 30, 33 to provide the better or stronger signal
tranmsission/reception.
[0021] The human interface diversity controller 27 preferentially
weights transmit signals, and/or switches at least one antenna on
and at least one antenna off, for example, based upon received
signal strength. The plurality of antennas 30, 33 may be operable
on a same frequency, have different polarizations, have different
conductive patterns and/or have different frequencies for transmit
and receive.
[0022] The portable handheld housing 24 preferably has opposing
parallel front and back surfaces and the plurality of antennas 30,
33 are arranged in side-by-side relation extending in a plane
parallel to the front and back surfaces. A display, user input
device and an input/output transducer are carried by the portable
handheld housing 24 and connected to the transceiver 25 as
discussed below. Furthermore, the transceiver 25 and the plurality
of antennas are operable in a cellular wireless network 60 and/or a
LAN wireless network. The wireless LAN may operate in accordance
with various wireless LAN standards, such as IEEE 802.11/802.11b or
Bluetooth, for example, as will also be appreciated by those
skilled in the art.
[0023] Turning additionally to FIG. 3, further details of an
embodiment of the antenna assembly 26 will be described and
illustratively include the first antenna 30 coupled to the
transceiver 25 at a feed point 31 and having a first shape. The
antenna assembly 26 also illustratively includes the second antenna
33 coupled to the wireless transceiver 25 at a feed point 34. The
second antenna 33 has a second shape different from the first shape
of the first antenna 30.
[0024] The polarizations of the first and second antennas 30, 33
may be orthogonal to one another to provide maximum polarization
diversity, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. Of
course, other arrangements may be possible in other
embodiments.
[0025] The first and second antennas 30, 33 may advantageously be
implemented as planar, printed conductive elements on a circuit
board 36. The circuit board may be mounted on the back side of the
device 21 (i.e., the side pointing away from the user when holding
the device to place a telephone call) at the top of the device
(i.e., adjacent the end of the device with the ear speaker). The
first and second antennas 30, 33 are shown with hatching to provide
greater clarity of illustration.
[0026] The first antenna 30 illustratively includes a feed branch
37 including the first feed point 31, a second feed point 38 which
is connected to ground, and a feed section 39 connected between the
first and second feed points. The first antenna 30 further
illustratively includes a loop branch 45 having a first end 46
coupled to the feed section 39 adjacent the first feed point 31. A
second end 47 of the loop branch 45 is spaced apart from the feed
section 39 by a gap 48, and the second end is adjacent the second
feed point 38. A loop-back section 49 extends between the first and
second ends 46, 47. More specifically, the loop-back section 49
generally loops in a clockwise direction from the first end 46 to
the second end 47, as shown. The first antenna 30 thus generally
defines a dual feed point, open loop configuration. This
configuration advantageously provides increased space savings
(i.e., reduced antenna footprint), as will be appreciated by those
skilled in the art.
[0027] The second antenna 33 also illustratively includes a feed
branch defined by the feed point 34 and a feed section 50. Further,
a loop branch having a first end 51 coupled to the feed section 50,
a second end 52 adjacent the feed branch and separated therefrom by
a gap 53, and a loop-back 54 section extending between the first
and second ends. The loop-back section 54 illustratively includes
an arcuate portion 55. The second antenna 33 thus defines a single
feed point, open loop element configuration. Again, this provides
space savings, and, thus, reduced antenna footprint.
[0028] As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, various
design parameters (e.g., widths, lengths, loop shapes, notches,
etc.) may be altered in the first and second antennas 30, 33 to
provide different signal characteristics. By way of example, the
overall dimensions of the first and second antennas 30, 33 may be 2
to 3 cm high by 2 to 3 cm wide for each element, although other
dimensions may also be used. The antennas 30, 33 preferably operate
over a wireless frequency range of about 2.4 to 2.5 GHz, for
example, although other frequencies are also possible. Moreover,
the coupling between the first and second antennas 30, 33 may also
be adjusted to provide desired performance characteristics. By way
of example, a preferred coupling distance or gap between the first
and second antennas 30, 33 may be in a range of about 3 to 7 mm,
although other gap distances may also be used as appropriate for
different embodiments.
[0029] Because the first and second antennas 30, 33 have different
shapes, they will also have different gain patterns, and thus
advantageously provide pattern diversity, as will be appreciated by
those skilled in the art. Moreover, the first and second antennas
30, 33 are preferably tuned to have substantially equal main lobe
gain for enhanced performance. Of course, it will be appreciated
that other antenna element shapes or types may be used in addition
to those noted above. Electromagnetic shielding may be placed over
one or both sides of the circuit board 36 as necessary in certain
applications, as will also be appreciated by those skilled in the
art.
[0030] A method aspect of the invention may include controlling the
wireless transceiver 25 to preferentially operate with the pair of
antennas 30, 33 based upon a relative position of the portable
handheld housing 24 with respect to a hand of a human user. Again,
controlling the wireless transceiver 25 may include preferentially
weighting transmit signals, and/or preferentially switching one
antenna on and one antenna off for transmit signals. Additional
method aspects will be appreciated by those skilled in the art from
the foregoing description.
[0031] Another example of a handheld mobile wireless communications
device 1000 that may be used in accordance the present invention is
further described with reference to FIG. 4. The device 1000
includes a housing 1200, a keyboard 1400 and an output device 1600.
The output device shown is a display 1600, which is preferably a
full graphic LCD. Other types of output devices may alternatively
be utilized. A processing device 1800 is contained within the
housing 1200 and is coupled between the keyboard 1400 and the
display 1600. The processing device 1800 controls the operation of
the display 1600, as well as the overall operation of the mobile
device 1000, in response to actuation of keys on the keyboard 1400
by the user.
[0032] The housing 1200 may be elongated vertically, or may take on
other sizes and shapes (including clamshell housing structures).
The keyboard may include a mode selection key, or other hardware or
software for switching between text entry and telephony entry.
[0033] In addition to the processing device 1800, other parts of
the mobile device 1000 are shown schematically in FIG. 4. These
include a communications subsystem 1001; a short-range
communications subsystem 1020; the keyboard 1400 and the display
1600, along with other input/output devices 1060, 1080, 1100 and
1120; as well as memory devices 1160, 1180 and various other device
subsystems 1201. The mobile device 1000 is preferably a two-way RF
communications device having voice and data communications
capabilities. In addition, the mobile device 1000 preferably has
the capability to communicate with other computer systems via the
Internet.
[0034] Operating system software executed by the processing device
1800 is preferably stored in a persistent store, such as the flash
memory 1160, but may be stored in other types of memory devices,
such as a read only memory (ROM) or similar storage element. In
addition, system software, specific device applications, or parts
thereof, may be temporarily loaded into a volatile store, such as
the random access memory (RAM) 1180. Communications signals
received by the mobile device may also be stored in the RAM
1180.
[0035] The processing device 1800, in addition to its operating
system functions, enables execution of software applications
1300A-1300N on the device 1000. A predetermined set of applications
that control basic device operations, such as data and voice
communications 1300A and 1300B, may be installed on the device 1000
during manufacture. In addition, a personal information manager
(PIM) application may be installed during manufacture. The PIM is
preferably capable of organizing and managing data items, such as
e-mail, calendar events, voice mails, appointments, and task items.
The PIM application is also preferably capable of sending and
receiving data items via a wireless network 1401. Preferably, the
PIM data items are seamlessly integrated, synchronized and updated
via the wireless network 1401 with the device user's corresponding
data items stored or associated with a host computer system.
[0036] Communication functions, including data and voice
communications, are performed through the communications subsystem
1001, and possibly through the short-range communications
subsystem. The communications subsystem 1001 includes a receiver
1500, a transmitter 1520, and one or more antennas 1540 and 1560.
The antenna system can be designed so that when one antenna is
covered by a hand, performance of one or more other antennas,
including antenna gain and match, may not be degraded. In addition,
the communications subsystem 1001 also includes a processing
module, such as a digital signal processor (DSP) 1580, and local
oscillators (LOs) 1601. The specific design and implementation of
the communications subsystem 1001 is dependent upon the
communications network in which the mobile device 1000 is intended
to operate. For example, a mobile device 1000 may include a
communications subsystem 1001 designed to operate with the
Mobitex.TM., Data TAC.TM. or General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)
mobile data communications networks, and also designed to operate
with any of a variety of voice communications networks, such as
AMPS, TDMA, CDMA, PCS, GSM, etc. Other types of data and voice
networks, both separate and integrated, may also be utilized with
the mobile device 1000.
[0037] Network access requirements vary depending upon the type of
communication system. For example, in the Mobitex and DataTAC
networks, mobile devices are registered on the network using a
unique personal identification number or PIN associated with each
device. In GPRS networks, however, network access is associated
with a subscriber or user of a device. A GPRS device therefore
requires a subscriber identity module, commonly referred to as a
SIM card, in order to operate on a GPRS network.
[0038] When required network registration or activation procedures
have been completed, the mobile device 1000 may send and receive
communications signals over the communication network 1401. Signals
received from the communications network 1401 by the antenna 1540
are routed to the receiver 1500, which provides for signal
amplification, frequency down conversion, filtering, channel
selection, etc., and may also provide analog to digital conversion.
Analog-to-digital conversion of the received signal allows the DSP
1580 to perform more complex communications functions, such as
demodulation and decoding. In a similar manner, signals to be
transmitted to the network 1401 are processed (e.g. modulated and
encoded) by the DSP 1580 and are then provided to the transmitter
1520 for digital to analog conversion, frequency up conversion,
filtering, amplification and transmission to the communication
network 1401 (or networks) via the antenna 1560.
[0039] In addition to processing communications signals, the DSP
1580 provides for control of the receiver 1500 and the transmitter
1520. For example, gains applied to communications signals in the
receiver 1500 and transmitter 1520 may be adaptively controlled
through automatic gain control algorithms implemented in the DSP
1580.
[0040] In a data communications mode, a received signal, such as a
text message or web page download, is processed by the
communications subsystem 1001 and is input to the processing device
1800. The received signal is then further processed by the
processing device 1800 for an output to the display 1600, or
alternatively to some other auxiliary I/O device 1060. A device
user may also compose data items, such as e-mail messages, using
the keyboard 1400 and/or some other auxiliary I/O device 1060, such
as a touchpad, a rocker switch, a thumb-wheel, or some other type
of input device. The composed data items may then be transmitted
over the communications network 1401 via the communications
subsystem 1001.
[0041] In a voice communications mode, overall operation of the
device is substantially similar to the data communications mode,
except that received signals are output to a speaker 1100, and
signals for transmission are generated by a microphone 1120.
Alternative voice or audio I/O subsystems, such as a voice message
recording subsystem, may also be implemented on the device 1000. In
addition, the display 1600 may also be utilized in voice
communications mode, for example to display the identity of a
calling party, the duration of a voice call, or other voice call
related information.
[0042] The short-range communications subsystem enables
communication between the mobile device 1000 and other proximate
systems or devices, which need not necessarily be similar devices.
For example, the short-range communications subsystem may include
an infrared device and associated circuits and components, or a
Bluetooth communications module to provide for communication with
similarly-enabled systems and devices.
[0043] Many modifications and other embodiments of the invention
will come to the mind of one skilled in the art having the benefit
of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the
associated drawings. Therefore, it is understood that the invention
is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed, and
that modifications and embodiments are intended to be included
within the scope of the appended claims.
* * * * *